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Saturday, March 15, 2014

Just a short update on my first week. I got the system on Wednesday of last week, started on Friday. I have been a little loose...gave myself a cheat day on Sunday, had a glass of wine on Thursday, had an extra slice of pizza today.

But overall, I'm still pleased. I've lost between 1.5 and 4 lbs in the last week (why the range? My weight fluctuates by a couple of pounds due to water. I went from 157 last Monday to 156.2 on Friday to 157 on Monday to 153 on Thursday to 154.8 on Friday.)

Anyway, I'm down a little bit, which is awesome! I really love the workouts, but I'm not gonna lie - I wanted to cry the day after the first full body cardio workout. My legs were so sore. Then I had to go into legs two days later. So far I've done all but the quick abs and yoga (I'm working it around my regular workouts). I have to do the "modified" versions of everything because my knees/ ankles still aren't able to take the pounding of running in place, jumping jacks, etc.

I'm eating a LOT of salad, pretty much because I'm getting two heads of lettuce a week from the CSA. BIG heads of lettuce. The hardest part, and the reason for the cheats, is that I only get two yellows - so only two servings of carbs a day (rice, beans, bread, etc.) And they are small servings.

I hope that I can maintain this pretty well for the next week when my husband is out of town. The week after is Spring break. Most of the week should be easy because we are off and my MIL is visiting so I'll have a lot more free time. But we are taking a family trip to Disneyland for two days- that will be the challenge.

On a surprising note, the chocolate shakeology is the BOMB. I mean, I still kinda can't believe that people pay $4 a serving for it (160 calories). But it tastes REALLY good and is filling. I will definitely stick to it as long as the weight is coming off.

The thing I like the most is the "if it ships, it fits". I stuff that little container full of...cottage cheese, strawberries, sunflower seeds, avocado (depending on the color) and then I'm good.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

It's no secret that I am trying to lose the last of the baby weight. By "last", I mean "20-25 pounds". Which seems like a lot, but remember, I gained 50.

It took 2 years (23 months, actually) to lose it after the first kid, and now I"m 6 years older. So I'm hoping to get it done by 2 years, but I'm also trying to be realistic.

I've tried many weight loss methods. Weight watchers worked well for me in the past. In the old days (2002, 2007), their plan was simple. I was an online member only. In 2002, you could get a "meal plan" from them. It was, generally, a very good plan. Well balanced, very healthy, made from mostly real food. Somewhere along the way, that option disappeared from the web site. As they changed their plan year to year (based on "new data") I found changes towards more "low-fat" - non-fat cheese, etc., and more push for prepared foods.

I'm not a fan of fat free cheese. I understand the prepared foods issue, because that's what busy people want. You don't HAVE to eat their frozen meals, but they are an option. The most recent re-do of WW just did not work for me at all. I lost NO weight. So I gave up on it. Then I moved on to calorie counting at MyFitnessPal and found that it worked. As long as I kept my calories at about 1500, it worked.

But boy, calorie counting is a pain, and I simply don't have time to do it all of the time. So I've tried other "cheat" ways around it. I mean, once I get a meal plan going, it should be easy, right? So I tried Chris Powell's "carb cycling" plan. That worked, but I found it to be too hard. Low-carb days were difficult for me to do on a schedule, simply because I bulk cook on the weekend. So if I make a big pile of pasta, I can't just eat it every other day or it will go bad.

Enter the 21-Day Fix by beachbody. My coworker is using this and she LOVES it. So I ordered it. I ordered it for a couple of reasons:
1. It comes with 30 min workouts. And, well, my kids are starting to let me work out in the morning. 20-34 minutes is all I get.
2. It comes with containers. "If it fits it ships". So, for my 1500 calorie range, I'd get a certain number of containers, color coded by type of food. Kind of like a general meal plan but easier. If you can fit it into the container, you can eat it.

It also comes with "Shakeology" which frankly, I'm not too excited about. The normal cost for this meal-replacement shake is $4 per serving, not really in my budget for a meal that you drink. But hey, overall, if it helps me drop into the 140's, it will be worth it.

It's not here yet, so I'll update you when it gets here.

I've also been eating a lot of chicken. Meal plan for the week:
1. Yesterday I made spanish rice/quinoa, pinto beans, and bought a roasted chicken from Whole Foods. I delivered this to a friend who is pregnant with her 4th child, as a "freezer meal" for after the baby is born.
2. I used the chicken carcass to make stock
3. I used older chicken stock to make chicken tortilla soup
4. I am hoping to make ginger carrot soup today with chicken stock
5. I am going to make lemon chicken pasta for dinner tonight

I'll finish with some pictures from our walk in the rain...it's been pouring for a few days - we needed it! We've had a drought. Crazy waves, lots of damage in town, including a restaurant window that broke.